CLASS NOTES | SUMMER 2023 | 55 Harmony Men’s Chorus of the Lehigh Valley and remains active in church choral groups. Knowing that Dave is also a volunteer/docent at America on Wheels several times a month, I dropped off one of the surplus 50th reunion polo shirts I have in my custody. It was my expression of appreciation for his collaboration on our Facebook group. I’m hoping that most of our shirt surplus will find a new home, based on my pleas in the last issue of the Bulletin, but I encourage you to ask me about their availability anyway. You may get lucky. There’s one more discussion thread that appears in our Facebook group that I feel obligated to mention in this issue. It started in 2009 with Val Zanchuk mentioning a return trip to Bethlehem and a visit to Pete’s Hot Dog King at 400 Broadway. Dave Kartzman asked, “Is Greekers still there?” Zanchuk reminded us that the Greeker was the nickname for Pete’s chili dog, that “Pete’s and Greekers are one and the same.” I’m sorry to report that Pete’s finally closed in March. After more than 80 years in business, the property is being sold. It is probably true that most patrons have a personal Pete’s anecdote. The shop’s website, peteshotdogshop. com, remains open (in early April), and folks are adding guest comments lamenting the decision to close. I have a couple of those myself, which I’ll probably share on that group page you will soon join. ’73 Patrick Fekula, 1891 Evans Drive South, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250. (904) 451-4949 (M); Pfekula7@gmail.com Well, our 50th class reunion has come and gone. If you were unable to attend, I promise you were missed. Unfortunately, due to the column deadline in April, and the publishing date in August, you will be unable to read about the details of this milestone event until the next issue of the Alumni Bulletin. However, I know the reunion committee worked hard to ensure that everyone returning to our beautiful campus would have a time worth remembering. I’ll have all the details in our next column, but for now, here are some updates on a few of our classmates. John Henning sent a note to remind us that he is still enjoying his career. According to John, “Having something meaningful to do is not only rewarding but necessary to growing old gracefully.” Speaking of aging, John’s old wrestling injuries have finally taken their toll, forcing him to have left knee replacement surgery this past February. He is still an avid follower of Lehigh wrestling, from his home in South Burlington, Vt., and says he is spoiled by the lack of traffic jams and over-population. In addition, he is trying hard to be a presence for his four children and five grandchildren, adding, “… what a blessing.” Ron Hoag retired in 2019 from Siemens Energy, and he and Marianne downsized to a home in Winter Park, Fla. He says they keep busy by doing volunteer work and traveling as much as they can “while we’re still standing.” In recent years, they have toured Europe, Alaska and Morocco, which included a camel ride — in Morocco, not Alaska. Early in their marriage, Ron and Marianne adopted two daughters but tragically lost their oldest, Erin, in 2015. They now spend time advocating for changes in the mental health system in her memory. Their other daughter, Meredith, is doing well and living in Virginia. Doug Hampson and his wife, Kathy, live in Bucks County, Pa. According to Doug, he spent 30-plus wonderful years at Rohm & Haas, where he also received his MBA, through the company. Unfortunately, they were acquired by Dow Chemical in 2009, which led to the elimination of many management jobs, including his. Doug was fortunate to land on his feet and spent the next 10 years at Henkel, a German company, headquartered in Dusseldorf. Doug enjoyed working with his German colleagues and made more than a dozen trips to Germany, including a couple where Kathy was able to accompany him. Since his retirement in 2021, Doug and Kathy have been doing more traveling; this time for pleasure. They highly recommend Aruba, which Doug says “has a combination of wonderful people and is a warm beach destination any time of the year.” Doug and Kathy have also enjoyed a couple of river cruises in Europe on the Danube and the Seine rivers. Doug likes the river cruises because “the boats have less than 200 passengers and are uniquely different from ocean cruises.” The Hampsons have three children and three grandchildren. Their son, Rob, is a member of the Lehigh Class of ’06. Rob met his wife, Emily (Roth) Hampson ’08, while they were both members of the Lehigh track and field team. Emily’s parents are also Lehigh alumni and also met while they were undergrads! ’74 Bill White, 5418 Holiday Drive, Allentown, PA 18104, whitebil1974@gmail.com John Nuss offered some news for us last winter. “As a former fellow Richards 1 freshman,” he wrote, “soon approaching 49 years without a contribution, I figured it was about time for a good one! Here is an item on my Pi Lambda Phi brother, Doug Brugler. “Doug Brugler, who honed his competitive edge representing Pi Lambda Phi in multiple intramural sports, was a late selection to join the 2022 USA Curling Men’s Scotland Tour. (Due to pandemic-related delays, the tour was actually held in January 2023.) The Scotland Tour takes place every 10 years, with Scottish teams in turn touring the United States during the intervals. The winning nation holds possession of the treasured Herries Maxwell Trophy until the next tour. “The 2022 tour was a 23day competition between U.S. and Scottish teams at 20 rinks across Scotland. Doug was one of 20 curlers representing the USA. Doug’s team acquitted themselves well with 14 wins against 10 losses and two draws. The team outpointed their Scottish opponents 198 to 159, solidly contributing to the USA’s overall tour victory — USA 979, Scotland 808. Way to go, Doug!” I asked John to add some information about himself. He was reluctant to give a full rundown except to say he’s happily retired, but he did offer one glimpse: “Veni, vidi, vici. “As for me, considering that I contributed far less to Richard 1’s and Pi Lam’s intramural successes (both living units did very well at the time, with only a bit of help from me), I settled for winning my Michigan retirement community’s 2022 billiards tournament, which required 22½ fewer days of competition than Doug’s tour. While my trophy is commensurately less treasured, I do get to keep it permanently. On the other hand, Doug got to enjoy a lot more whisky.” Eric Wallace touched base, also focusing on others, although he did note that he retired last October and says he’s enjoying it thoroughly. Eric drew my attention to articles on the Lehigh engineering website about two women who ended up graduating with our class. I’ll summarize some of the background included in the articles, which also featured interviews with them. Jill Duerig, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in fundamental sciences (biology/ chemistry), “recently retired following an accomplished career in the water industry in California. Jill most recently
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